Here is what I am calling a laundry list of my thoughts, observations, and notes on some of the reading (and viewing) I did today.
1. ALA site.
RE: internet filtering - embracing values over filters and trusting children, parents play a big role.
I really enjoyed this brief article. My son is a college baseball player, so the little league analogy resonated with me. He did learn the whole game first, and 19 years later continues to fine-tune his skills. And with a certain amount of enthusiasm no less. While endless drills might be considered drudgery to some extent, knowing the end goal makes the efforts worthwhile - in baseball and in learning.
RE: "learning the components of a subject without ever putting them together."
Perhaps my recollection is wrong, misguided, or even misinterpreted, however, it seems to me that at one point in time we wanted students to put the pieces together, without presenting the whole. As a learner, this never worked for me, and I suppose, still doesn't. I like to know what I'm aiming for, what direction I should be taking.
RE: "Learn from the team."
Refreshing thought. There is great comfort in being able to learn from others, and great fun in sharing what one has learned... most of the time. Just recently, however, I found myself being possessive of my new learning and I don't understand why. With a certain amount of shame I will admit to this - I initially found it a little difficult to share my new knowledge of "badges" with members of my study group. Is this because, that as a student of the past, the "keep our eyes on your own paper" attitude still run deep? I wanted to savor my new found knowledge, not share it. And the thing of it is, I really did enjoy showing off (er, I mean sharing) my new skill and certainly benefited from doing so. So why did I have that initial reaction?
3. Global Achievement Gap Keynote Video - list of my notes. (I know his list of competencies is online).
Employees that ask questions
Employees that engage others
Need core competencies to adapt, to be continuous learners (Abigail Adams?)
Problem solvers - Yes, ask good questions, but must have background, too
Collaborating to create new knowledge
Employees to come up with new ideas
Effective and oral communication - making a logical or persuasive argument. What to get out of meeting - give the whole first
Writing is thinking made public. Write with voice - need for persuasion
Competitive edge will be our nich
AYPs at expense of children's lives
Competencies not content, but content does matter. Yes know Civil War, but what do you think about the causes
Recovering high school English teacher (lol)
Knowing parts of speech not needed to write well
Finland - sample of student assessment, not all
Killing curiosity the longer in school. Test Prep?
Learn from peers far more than adults. Sharing constantly out of school. Digital divide
Young people with more and more responsibility in the workforce
Coaching rather than professional development for teachers. Video tape best practice and analyze it.
Some schools are doing this. Field trip?
I found your comments on badges interesting. Sharing would seem so easy and obvious, but it doesn't always work out that way initially. In the end, however, sharing benefits us more, as you acknowledge: "I really did enjoy showing off (er, I mean sharing) my new skill and certainly benefited from doing so."
ReplyDeleteDennis